Astronomy for Dummies
by GhostfaceScylla
Summary: Sheer fluff. Ron always did have a knack for embarrassing people without ever realizing it… One Shot about Harry and Hermione. HHR forever! RnR please


Hey, ya'll!

larachan here with a little one-shot for your reading enjoyment. It's just something to pass the time between updates of **9 Lives**. This idea stuck in my mind and WOULD NOT leave me alone until I wrote it. Hope you like it! As always, both reviews and flames are quite welcome, just leave me something, k?

**Title: Astronomy for Dummies**

**Rating: PG-13 due to occasional strong/suggestive language where appropriate**

**Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the Harry Potter Series are property of J.K. Rowling and Scholastic Press**

**Summary: Sheer fluff. Ron always did have a knack for embarrassing people without ever realizing it… One Shot about Harry and Hermione. HHR forever! RnR please!**

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It was quiet.

Damn Quiet.

It seemed like the only sound for miles and miles was that annoying scratchy noise that quill pens make when dragged across paper. Harry let out an inaudible sigh as he watched her discreetly from his couch across the Common Room. She was hard at work, bent over a library of thick books and straining her eyes to see in the dim light. Somewhere, a clock struck midnight. She didn't seem to notice, though.

Come to think of it, she didn't seem to notice much of anything nowadays. It was creepy in a way, like she was almost purposely ignoring Harry. He had even walked in on some of her conversations with Ron, and she had immediately fallen silent upon seeing him. He pushed the thought out of his mind. Nah, if Hermione was cross with you, you wouldn't have to guess about it. The random objects being pelted at your head would clue you in…

Hermione looked lovely she looked in the moonlight, with her hair falling down around her face, her perplexed expression, her rosebud lips chewing on the end of her quill as she read out of _Practical Defense against the Dark Arts, Year 6._

Yep. Six years now… Six long years of being attracted in a more-than-friends sort of way to Hermione Granger, six years of Harry doing absolutely nothing about it. He was just about to take a stroll down Memory Lane when-

"GAH!" The door to the Common Room flew open and slammed closed within a second.

"RON!" Hermione shouted, her first word in hours. "You made me spill ink all over this parchment! Now I'll have to redo the whole thing!"

"YOU!" Ron threw his coat down on a chair by the fire and pointed an angry finger at Hermione. "Your kind! You're all DEVILS, the lot of you!"

Hermione was sputtering indignantly. Harry closed the book he had been pretending to read. ""S matter, Ron? Girl troubles?"

"GIRL TROUBLES?!" Ron threw his hands up in the air and plopped down in the chair, placing his coat over his head with a small whimper. "'S the understatement of the CENTURY!"

Hermione had finally realized that she was not going to get any more work done until Ron was properly pacified. She sighed and heaved the heavy books shut. "Alright, Ron. Let's hear it."

Ron placed his head in his hands and smoothed back his hair. "Remember Alexis Elmsley?"

Harry gave him a sympathetic look. "Ravenclaw, right? You were supposed to go on a walk with her tonight, weren't you?"

"It's a little late to be coming in from a walk, isn't it, Ron?" Hermione moved across the Common Room and sat down beside him. "Did she stand you up?"

"Oh, if only she _had!_" Ron bellowed. Hermione and Harry exchanged a quick confused glance. "A walk! A simple walk, that's all I wanted! Good God, with all the walking we did tonight, we could've walked to the North Pole and back! I nearly froze my knickers off in that snow out there! We walked around the grounds _at least_ six times!"

"Er….Ron….? Why?" Harry was starting to think that the cold had affected more than just Ron's knickers…possibly his mind.

"Because she was _thinking!_ I ask her one simple question! Will you go out with me? It's a yes or no question. Am I right? Hermione, is that a yes or no question?"

"Well, yes, Ron…" Hermione was suddenly looking a little uncomfortable.

"And what does she say? She says 'I Don't Know'! That is _not_ an acceptable answer!" Ron jumped off the couch and pointed defiantly in the air.

Hermione coughed. "Yes, but-"

"And _then_, I spend the next three hours trying to weasel an answer out of the girl! I tell her, hey, we're friends, you should be able to tell me anything. Am I right? Well, _am _I?"

"Ron, I thin-"

"I mean, Harry," Ron wheeled around to face his best friend, "hypothetically speaking, if you had a crush on Hermione, or wanted to go out with her or something, you'd just waltz over and tell her so, right?"

Did it suddenly just get a lot hotter in here?

Harry pulled at his collar. Stupid, stupid, stupid Ron! "Er….well….Yes…..I suppose so….." Hermione eyed him suspiciously.

"Precisely!" Ron shouted enthusiastically as if he had just discovered the meaning of life. "And you know why? Because you and Hermione are _friends_, and _friends_ should be able to tell each other everything, right?"

"Right." Hermione suddenly stood up and shot Harry a death glance. "Friends should tell each other _everything_," she articulated as if she was talking to a child. "Otherwise, it's not a friendship at all."

"Righto!" Ron dove forward with new zeal. "And _that's_ why she should have given me a straight answer, because we're friends just like you," he pointed to Harry, "and Hermione-"

"Yeah, a _straight answer_, Harry." Hermione's voice was so low that Harry almost didn't hear her as she resumed her place on the couch.

"But no! You know the answer I finally got out of her?" Ron paused for dramatic effect. "She's gotta talk to her dorm mates first. I said, wait, am I going out with them, too? And did _that_ ever put her in a huff! She stormed right back up to the Ravenclaw Common Room and slammed the door on my nose! Ugh, women!"

Hermione scoffed, crossing her arms. "You know, not _all_ women are-"

"I don't care! I'm not listening!" Ron stuck his fingers in his ears and started to sing. Hermione rolled he eyes and said something about 'Juvenile behavior.' "I don't wanna hear another word from anything that even _looks _like a female until morning. 'M going to bed. Coming, Harry?"

Harry's mind was still reeling over Hermione's dirty looks; it took him longer than usual to process. "…Er…….no….no, I've got to read some more before bed."

"Suit yourself. G'night then."

The door to Harry's dorm slammed shut and the Common Room was again silent. Hermione lifted herself off of the couch and resumed her place at the window. She flung open a book and began to scribble again.

Had she been mad at him a moment ago or was it just his imagination?

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The dunce.

Hermione sighed, pretending to look out the window as she stole a peek at Harry's reflection in the glass. He wasn't going to say anything, was he? And after Ron's whole 'Friends and Trust' speech, she was sure he'd talk. If he'd just tell her, she'd forgive him!

Maybe he didn't think she knew. But some things were obvious enough. What did he expect her to think? She _did _find her Astronomy worksheet in his dorm room, after all. And if Ron didn't take it, which he swore he didn't, who else?

It's not that she cared so much, he could have just asked her for help instead of stealing her work… Which would have given her an excuse to spend more time secretly gushing over his bright green eyes, his unkempt hair, his-

She pushed the thought away. Yes. She liked him. A lot. Who was she kidding, she loved the boy. But right now, she was madder than Snape in Neville's grandma's vulture hat. Now where was she? Oh yes…

It was the principle of the thing, a total trust infringement on their friendship!

Well, she couldn't just let him get away with it, now could she? It seemed like she had to do everything herself nowadays…

"Harry?" Hermione turned towards him, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.

He looked up and locked eyes with her, making her…wholly…forget….what she was about…to say. She blushed. "Er…… we're friends, right?"

"'Course!" He smiled.

"And that means you can tell me anything, right?"

"….yes."

Hermione stood up and made her way across the room, sitting down next to him on the couch. "And…isn't there something you want to tell me?" Her hair was glowing, outlined by the firelight.

Then it dawned on Harry. She was asking for an admission…he should tell her….he should tell her _now_ what he had been keeping secret these past six years. Come on, Brain! Make words!

"Er…..Hermione……I……I….."

'Harry, just say it! You stole my homework!' Hermione thought to herself. "What, Harry?"

"I…….I….."

"Harry? What is it?"

"I…….I am…….I"

"Harry, for God's sake, just tell me already!"

Harry took one deep intake of air. "HermioneI'mInLoveWithYou!"

"AHA!" Hermione jumped up from the couch giving Harry a fright. "YOU _DID_ STEAL MY ASTRONOMY HOMEW-wait, what?"

A little buzzing sound was ringing in Hermione's ears. Could she have just heard what she thought she heard? Her legs collapsed under her as she plopped back down on the couch. "Wh – What did you say?"

Harry was looking positively mortified. "Your Astronomy homework? No! That was Seamus, not me!"

"No, not that! Before that!"

"Er….nothing?"

Hermione grabbed Harry's shoulders and turned him towards her. "Harry? Answer me."

Harry ruffled his hair with one hand and sighed. Then, he brought his eyes level with hers. They were so beautiful, so rich, so sparkling, so….right. "Hermione, I'm…in love with you." The elephant that had been sitting on Harry's chest for the past six years finally moved. He felt renewed, a sheepish smile crept across his face. "I….I guess you _do_ have a right to know, after all."

And then, a most unexpected thing happened.

Hermione threw herself on to Harry's chest, wrapping her arms around his neck. She placed her head on his shoulder and the sweet smell of her hair was all around him, inside of him. "Oh Harry! I love you, too! I'velovedyouforalltheseyears! Whydidn'tweeverjusttelleachother!We'vewastedsomuchtime-"

Harry laughed. He locked his fingers behind her back and pulled her closer. She was so perfect. And she was in his arms. "Hermione?"

She stopped talking, brought her face away from his shoulder, only to discover she was inches away from his lips. She smiled. "Er…"

Harry brought his hand to her cheek, scooting her forward, tilting her chin upwards. He leaned her way, gently, ever so gently, her breathing heavier, her eyes mischievous and her palm-frond lashes closing, until-

The stars winked in approval.

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Heh Heh Heh. Well, that's all, my Potter Pals! Hope you enjoyed it, take the last line wherever you will! Once again, flames and reviews alike are quite welcome, please leave me something! Thanks for your time, till next time,

larachan


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